and here I thought high school was over...

"Obama Says It Was a Turn, Not a Snub"
I thought I was the only one who obsessed over dumb stuff like this

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/29/obama-says-it-was-a-turn-not-a-snub/index.html?nl=pol&emc=pol

Writers

The presidential speechwriters should go on strike. This is not because I know of any particular injustice they're suffering or anything, but although I feel bad that the writers for Conan and Leno and Letterman, etc are not getting what they deserve, it's making me actually want to watch the shows again. It was embarrassingly late that I realized these people even HAD writers; I was naive enough to think that they wrote it all themselves. Duh. But I find them much funnier when they are left to their own devices. The same is true for presidential candidates; it took me a long time to realize THEY didn't write their own speeches. I think they should; then we'd have a much better idea of what we were actually going to get. Also, IF anyone reads this, does anyone know a good resource for getting past all the dumbing-down and b.s. of the candidates' speeches and finding details of HOW the candidates are going to do all the stuff they're talking about doing? Is it naive to think there is such a place?

E.P.A. denies waiver to California: why?

This denial is asinine: why, if you were really an organization put in place to protect the environment, would you deny a state's efforts to protect the environment?! Their explanation is so typical of the government...'no, really, we have this great plan...you'll see...just as soon as we put it into effect...you just watch! Meanwhile, just don't make us look bad with your forward-thinking, common-sense approach.' At least California is fighting back...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/03/us/03suit.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

If they're trying to convince us that their food is NOT terrible...this is not helping

"How to Make a Perfect Casserole: Just Add Badger" (from The Guardian)
http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/food/story/0,,2233976,00.html